A boy in an Irish tricolour wig sitthing on the shoulders of a young woman and holding a green leprechaun hat

Happy St Patrick’s!

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 09 March 2023 > Celebrate


St Patrick's Day, 17 March, is the Irish national day. But there are many communities of Irish origin around the world and on St Paddy's Day, everyone is Irish!

There is a large Irish community in the U.S. and the parades in Chicago and New York are famous. The Chicago River, and the Liffey in Dublin, have been dyed green on March 17 for many years. More recently, many landmarks around the world have symbolically “gone green” for St Patrick’s Day. You can see some of them here  and in the video below.

This page from the Irish Tourist Board tells you all the basics about St Patrick and St Patrick’s Day: Why is it on 17 March? Was St Patrick Irish? Why is green associated with St Patrick's day, and Ireland, alias the Emerald Isle?

For any celebration you need food and drink. Here are some traditional Irish recipes, and a video to show you how to make brown soda bread and smoked salmon pâté. (Tip: for buttermilk, you can use lait ribot or make your own by adding 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to 500ml of milk and leaving it for a few minutes. The acidity works with the bicarbonate of soda to replace yeast in this simple bread.)

To celebrate St Patrick's Day with your class, don't miss our webpicks for some great resources!

Events in France
The Irish Cultural Centre in Paris is hosting a 10-day St Patrick's festival with lots of concerts, Irish dancing, film showings and more. You can find the programme here.

Celebrations at the Irish Cultural Centre.

You can find the programme here.

The Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco is having an a concert on the 14th.

There are a series of events in Toulouse on the 15th.

If you know about other St Patrick's events, please let us know so we can include them.

 



Webpicks Useful websites and online tools for classroom use
> St Patrick’s Day on the Web